Simplifying Your Dishwashing

In many houses, family members often fight over who has to wash the dishes after diner. Even though it is usually an every day chore and does not take too long, the idea of washing dishes seems to make most people groan. However, by simplifying your dishwashing, you can complete the job more easily, more quickly, and maybe even with a smile on your face..

• Stay ahead: As soon as the dishes in the dishwasher are clean, unload it—even if you do not even have any dirty dishes in the sink yet. If you keep your dishwasher unloaded, then you can just add dirty dishes as you use them throughout the day. This is especially beneficial for those living with roommates—if everyone loads his or her own dishes, you will not have to clean up after each other as much. Another reason that staying ahead is beneficial is that you will rarely have a large, daunting stack of crusty, dirty dishes in the sink. It is much less intimidating to just wash a few at a time, and much easier to scrape off food that has not been hardening all day.
• Soak: If some food is stuck on your dishes (e.g. cheese is melted on from the microwave), let your dishes soak. Plug the sink, put the dishes in, and fill it up with some hot, soapy water. This will make it much easier to scrub your dishes later.
• Method to the madness: Keep your dirty dishes in your dishwasher organized. If there is a good amount of space between the dishes, there will be more room for the hot water to clean them. If your dishes do not get clean in the dishwasher, it makes more work for you. Arrange your dishes in such a way that they will get clean (you might need to do some experimenting with your own dishwasher). Another way to ensure that your dishes get clean is to make sure that you do not have any objects too large on the bottom shelf—they will keep the water from getting to the top shelf. Also, if you keep your dishes organized in the dishwasher, it is usually easier to unload them because they are already grouped together in ways that you will put them up (bowls with bowls, mugs with mugs, etc.).

Following some of these simple rules will help make your dishwashing much easier and much quicker; perhaps you will more fully enjoy your meals knowing that you do not have a big mess waiting for you.